Belgium paid the price for their hopeless finishing as their Euro 2024 campaign got off to a terrible start with a 1-0 loss against Slovakia on Monday, even though they managed to put the ball in the net twice.
Amid Romelu Lukaku's many wasted opportunities and Jeremy Doku's promising but fruitless dribbles forward, it was a terribly infuriating evening for the Rode Duivels. They proved the masters of their own downfall, too, when Doku's silly pass into the Belgium box was pounced on and ended up in the net via Ivan Schranz's shot.
Domenico Tedesco's team pushed for the equaliser, but Doku found himself constantly blocked for much of the game while Lukaku just couldn't score. When the striker finally did put the ball in the net - twice - he was deemed offside by VAR before a second was disallowed for Lois Openda's handball.
Belgium were totally dominant throughout the second half, seeing over 70 per cent possession for much of it and having seven shots over the 45 minutes, but they simply could not find a way to beat Martin Dubravka without VAR getting in the way.
GOAL rates Belgium's players from the Deutsche Bank Park in Frankfurt...